CNN Reporter Bashes Trump, But Kellyanne Fires Back With A Response That Had Everyone Shocked

By Wendy Michaels - Updated January 9, 2019

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway was quick with a snarky comeback when reporter Jim Acosta asked if President Trump would “tell the truth” during his Oval Office address regarding U.S.-Mexico border security. In fact, Conway slammed Acosta, calling him “a smart ass” and lighting into him about his question.

The incident happened while Conway was talking with reporters in the White House driveway, with the White House counselor remarking that she was the “only one around here who gives you the time of day” and pointing to the media around her while noting “a lot of these people don’t like you.”

Conway had just finished an appearance on Fox News when she spoke with the reporters, as Acosta asked: “Can you promise that the president will tell the truth tonight? Will he tell the truth?”

Conway answered: “Yes Jim and can you promise that you will?,” to which he responded: “I will. Absolutely.”

She continued: “The whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god. Am I allowed to mention God to you?”

Acosta was quick to fire back, noting: “I’m not the one that has the alternative facts problem like you do. Will the president tell the truth?”

She responded, “Make sure that goes viral,” adding, “This is why I’m one of the only people around here who gives you the time of day.”

With Conway failing to give an adequate answer, Acosta asked, “Can you guarantee that the president’s speech will pass a fact check?”

Conway replied: “Let me get back in your face because you’re such a smart ass most of the time and I know you want this to go viral, a lot of these people don’t like you. But just let me be respectful to the media at large as I always am, I explained that was alternative information and additional facts and I explained it many times. And don’t you put it back in my face for all the corrections that your network needs to issue. I was on your network 25 or 26 times in 2018 and I’m one of the last people here that even bothers to go on. And the disrespect that you show to me personally, I’ll just…”

Acosta interrupted to ask again: “Ma’am I just asked you if the president will tell the truth tonight.”

Conway replied: “Don’t call me ma’am just to make it up.”

Acosta’s mention of “alternative facts” refers to the phrase Conway used in 2017 when she tried to clarify what then press secretary Sean Spicer said during a briefing where he stated that Trump had the biggest crowd ever for his inauguration.

Conway also discussed the White House claim that 4,000 known or suspected terrorists were caught last year trying to cross the border when, in fact, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, only 12 were caught at the southern border between October 2017 and 2018.

Conway noted earlier that day that White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made an “unfortunate misstatement” about that claim.

Acosta notably had his White House credential pulled last year after he and Trump had a heated exchange at a press conference, with the president telling him to “sit down” as an aide tried to pass the microphone to another journalist.